GRAND MARAIS, MINNESOTA

June 15, 2008 Pileated Woodpeckers

The largest woodpecker in Minnesota is the Pileated and they are very common along the North Shore. June is when they have their young and it is a great time to get out and watch as they feed the babies. During my wanderings this spring I have found two nesting cavities. As of this week the babies aren’t big enough yet to stick their heads out but it is still fun to watch the adults delivering ants.

Pileated Woodpecker Male 001

It is easy to tell the male from the female since the male has the red mustache as seen here in this photo. Several bird books say that they both build the nest but they must count supervision because I have only seen the male actually doing the grunt work. The female will check the nest periodically giving signs of approval and the male then gets back to work.

Cleaning House 001

Most baby birds expel their waste in a small capsule so that the adults can remove it from the nest. This not only protects the babies from disease but eliminates odors that might attract predators. Here the female is removing one of these small capsules. You can see sawdust from the bottom of the nest attached to this sticky little thing. I don’t feel I can complain about cleaning the house any more after seeing what this female has to do. Speaking of housecleaning I have noticed that it is the female that has been doing the housecleaning. The male brings food regularly but never helps clean up.

Get Back To Hunting

This is my favorite photo this week. The male had returned with food and seemed to be just lying around the house for some time. The female was on a nearby tree calling but the male continued to stay in the house. She flew up to the hole and the male suddenly tore out of the nest so fast that the female had to lean her head back. I don’t know if having his head feathers sticking up like this displays fear or affection.